The Master of a Thousand Holds

ABOUT MIKE QUACKENBUSH

Mike Quackenbush has a closet full of sparkly pants.

…this is because he spent a number of years in the squared circle, performing in thousands of matches, and entertaining fans all over the globe. Along the way he earned nicknames like “Lightning,” the “Ring Wizard,” and ultimately, “The Master of a Thousand Holds,” before retiring from the ring in 2013.

Since 1994, he’s explored every avenue and aspect of the game. He’s authored books, written hundreds of articles for Pro Wrestling Illustrated, The Wrestler, Inside Wrestling and more; pioneered the use of video podcasting within the artform, and founded his own organization (CHIKARA) and training center (The Wrestle Factory). With all the downtime that leaves him, he teaches pro-wrestling multiple times a week, including traveling the planet to deliver his intensive performance seminars to organizations big and small; writes and produces live events, manages a touring ensemble, drinks too much coffee, and even accepts public speaking engagements. So kids, that’s what “retirement” looks like.

Among his strangest endeavors was a year-long trans-media and viral marketing experiment of his own design and execution, that yielded both a city-wide scavenger hunt and the red carpet premiere of the feature-length film, The Ashes of CHIKARA. While “The Master of a Thousand Holds” is no longer an active grappler, he remains the patriarch of the entire CHIKARA family, the head trainer of the Wrestle Factory, and is relentlessly pushing the pro-wrestling artform forward. He resides in Collegeville, PA where, it should be noted, he keeps all his sparkly pants.